Churches and their staff may be interested to learn more about a new Illinois retirement savings program.

The Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act is a state-facilitated, mandated retirement savings program for employers that have five or more employees who are issued a W-2 and that do not already offer an employer-sponsored retirement plan. This mandate serves as a payroll function in which a local church deducts an employee’s elected contributions from their paycheck to contribute to a state-facilitated Roth IRA retirement savings program. Local churches that have fewer than five employees who receive a W-2 are exempt from participating in Illinois Secure Choice, as are local churches that sponsor a retirement plan for their employees.

Employees should visit the Illinois Secure Choice website for more information regarding making contribution elections or speak with their personal financial advisor. 

The Northern Illinois Conference provides these FAQs about the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program, as prepared by the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.